Backfire
by Mikami
Summary: ItaSaku. After holding Sakura captive for five months, Itachi comes up with a perfect plan on how to exact further pain on Sasuke. Unfortunately, he overlooked the possibility of it backfiring. One shot only.
1. Last Spite

**Backfire**

Written by: Mikami

**Summary**: After holding Sakura captive for five months, Itachi comes up with a perfect plan on how to exact further pain on Sasuke. Unfortunately, he overlooked the possibility of it backfiring. One-shot.

**Author's notes**: Written sometime back in 2004-2005. Reposting for old times sake : ) Everything that is _ITALICIZED_ is a character thought.

**Warnings**: Profanity. GET LOST KIDDIES, this fic is a lemon-scented Itachi x Sakura.

* * *

**Part 1: Last Spite**

The sun shone brightly and maliciously over Haruno Sakura's head as she turned the wet fish over with an audible slap. Despite the sticky sensation of sweat that was dripping down her scorched face, Sakura gripped the kunai's slippery handle tightly to finish scaling the fish. The scales were scattered on her makeshift rock slab on the ground, creating a doted formation of tiny rainbows.

Sakura gritted her teeth against the soreness of her hands as she put the last scaled trout on the cracked plate beside her. Her hands were red and raw from the work and were almost completely void of sensation. The heat of the sun wasn't making anything better, as it began to roast her alive outside.

She wiped her wrist tiredly over her sweat-beaded forehead and sat back to rest awhile. The punctured wound on her index finger from the sharp trout's fin made her hiss as blood colored the tip of her nail.

A sudden, loud swooping noise caught her ears and Sakura craned her head around while putting her bleeding finger in her mouth. Just then her emerald eyes narrowed tightly at the form of Hoshigaki Kisame, who was giving his sharkskin sword another mighty heave. The frightful capacity of the toothed weapon swung and cut through the air like a spiked pendulum and made Sakura swallow an unexpected lump in her throat. Its master, the Mist-oriented Akatsuki member, appeared paler than ever before.

The wood of a nearby tree cracked and splintered piercingly as Kisame's blade, Samehada, struck the bark and tore off a large section in the middle. At the drastic damage, Kisame bared his jagged teeth in a grin that was a strange cross between delight and wistfulness.

_Probably wishing the tree was a crowd of people instead_, Sakura grumbled mentally in disgust.

Kisame rested the tip of the sword on the ground—it was the first time Sakura had seen the monster weapon completely unsheathed of its usual wraps. With his hand rested at the skull hilt, he turned his face toward the lake.

A swirling mass of bubbles began to irritate the shore at Kisame's command. He stood stationary at his spot, silently willing the water to dance and play at his leisure. A large wave was about to cast itself onto the sand when Kisame stopped it and made it rise up to form a wall. Dripping with slivers of froth, the top of the wall bubbled and gurgled.

_Always does this when he's totally bored_, Sakura thought flatly. She decided to go back to work by turning a fish over in her hand. Without a word or blink, she plunged the kunai into its belly.

The activity that Sakura was confined to had been a daily routine in the past couple months. Time passed like a blur and she gave up long ago trying to figure out how long she'd been with the presently scattered Akatsuki. It was useless to try to make any sense of the situation, which was now tiresome, boorish and annoying. Fear was once a feeling that plagued her everyday but for the past three weeks she was able to put it to rest. The reason ? Uchiha Itachi was away on business.

Sakura carved the insides of the trout and messily threw them on the grass beside the plate. She picked up another fish and stabbed it too, but with growing severity.

She could still remember the desperate expressions of her squad in the final seconds of their confrontation with the two Akatsuki members. Asuma had been beaten down, his spirit nearly in shards from the Tsukiyomi. Shino was on the ground, barely conscious enough to keep an eye open, as was Shikamaru. Neji battled with Kisame but after a well-fought period, he was caught off-guard by his enemy's Suikoudan. However, the worst of all was Sasuke.

The blade of the kunai was thrust into a third fish and this time Sakura tore out the insides with a numb hand. She breathed in a constricted sigh, remembering the look on Sasuke's face.

Before the age of nineteen, Uchiha Sasuke already had a string of failed attempts to punish his brother by revenge. And every time a piece of Sasuke was torn away—burned in the flames of spite and the desire to continue his quest for vengeance. Sakura had stayed by his side with no regrets no matter rough it had been. But the following year, a little while after Sasuke turned twenty, he decided to remedy all his past failures. Completely alone, he disappeared from Konoha a second time and set out to find Itachi on his own.

Akatsuki had been lying low in reaction to their old, foiled plan to gain access to the Kyubi and were currently licking their wounds from the unexpected attack by the increased number of Konoha ANBU. The organization was scattered for a long period of time, giving Sasuke the chance to seek out his brother.

The news of Sasuke's second departure from Konoha was found out as soon as he left and at that time Sakura was the first to launch an expedition. Against his will, Naruto stayed behind under the wishes of both Kakashi and Jiraiya. Itachi was a prominent figure in the Akatsuki organization and there was a good chance Sakura's group would run into both him and Sasuke at the time of duel.

Kakashi and Jiraiya had been right.

Sasuke had received another chance to challenge his brother but as Murphy's Law would have it, Itachi once again had the upper hand. Itachi had batted him away like a fly but Sasuke kept charging ahead once Sakura and her retrieval group had arrived. Sasuke was anything but happy about their arrival; however, Itachi gave him no time to stew in his annoyance of Sakura's intervention. One second, the battle between Sasuke, Sakura, Asuma, Shino, Shikamaru and Neji raged on with the Akatsuki members. The next second, the only two left were Sakura and Sasuke, in which Sakura had been knocked unconscious.

Sasuke, looking ragged on the ground, had watched in horror as Itachi gave him nothing more than an eye twitch and vanished with Sakura's immobile form.

Sakura sat back again, trying to discern for the thousandth time the feeling that came over her when she awakened in this place. She was unsettled in this illusion of woodland comfort. The trees swayed merrily in the breeze beside the lakeshore of the old, abandoned cabin. It must have been left there ages ago because of the vines that almost covered it. Stationed beside the cabin was an old water well, a shed and a small bathhouse a few feet away. All of which were miraculously in working order thanks to her.

After the last fish was finished, she picked up her tools and stood up. Her hands and arms were feeling itchy and she reeked of fish guts in the humidity of the day. Wiping her forehead, Sakura looked back at Kisame and scowled when she noticed the pale Akatsuki member eyeing her from head to toe.

" Better take a good hard look. It's all you're getting," she said haughtily.

Kisame's beady eyes flashed.

" I like dirty, pretty things," he replied, baring jagged teeth. " And you're a nice combination of both."

" Is that a compliment or just a regurgitation ?"

Kisame's grin became wider, making the lines of his face reach all the way to his inhuman eyes. " You should take it as one. I don't usually give them out for free."

" Oh, well I feel special," Sakura drawled scathingly.

She watched him start to wrap up the scaled blade of Samehada. He shrugged at her and began at the base, near the hilt. There was a trace of something in his face, something smug.

" No wonder you have trouble taking them," he said. " Your so-called significant other never stopped to pay much attention to you didn't he ?"

" Don't……you start talking about that," Sakura's voice started to cloud over with hot anger.

But Kisame's grin went from wide to excited. He had hit a sensitive nerve.

" It's either he didn't fuck you enough or didn't fuck you at all. Yeah, I think that's it."

A sharp sound whizzed through the air, carrying with it a barrage of anger and hatred. Sakura had roared fiercely and launched the kunai she had been using earlier directly between Kisame's eyes. He caught it effortlessly between his fingers without so much as a sniff from his nose.

" Nice try," he winked at her.

Sakura whirled around on her heel and growled loudly in fury. All she heard was Kisame's roaring laughter as she headed back into the house.

* * *

The warmth of the bath did some good in soothing Sakura's jangled nerves. With her head rested back, she sank chin-deep into the steaming depths, all the while trying to expel troublesome thoughts plaguing her ruthless mind.

Earlier, she had tossed the raw fish beside the sink and angrily marched over to the well and dragged the bucket to the bathhouse. With antagonism pulsing through her veins, she heated herself some water and hoped to rid herself of her annoyance and the smell of fish.

_Fucking Kisame_, she thought acidly. She was already feeling pathetic because she reacted the way she did to his offhanded comment. Sakura had been in his company for a few months now. There was no reason for his words to affect her in any way.

But they did because they were about Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Sakura felt a pang in her heart. What Kisame said did hit a sensitive nerve and it did hurt because it was true. Sasuke never really paid much attention to her but all the while she stayed by his side, hoping one day he'd see her patience and loyalty. It already pained her all those years but she didn't need Kisame to rub salt on the wound.

As Sakura picked up the sponge, her thoughts drifted to Konoha—her home. Running the sponge up and down her arms, she wondered if Naruto, Kakashi or even Sasuke believed she was dead. It was a long time already. There was the possibility that Konoha had stopped searching for her.

_No_, she shook her head violently. _They all know I'm alive. They're coming for me_.

So why hadn't someone come already ?

Sakura sighed again, inhaling the steam that was rising from the bath. She had no idea how she was surviving the separation from home. It was enough being with two notorious members of the Akatsuki, one of which was Uchiha Itachi—liar, murderer, extortionist. He was the sole reason of the genocide behind the Uchiha clan and Sasuke's pinnacle of malevolence. He was also one of her fears.

The last three weeks were a welcome blessing. One day she just woke up and Itachi was gone. Suddenly the air of her captivity wasn't so heavy and bleak. Kisame was there but he was nothing like his counterpart. Itachi frightened her in ways that made cold, sinister chills run up and down her spine. He had killed everyone that loved him without a single strand of remorse. Sakura claimed inwardly that he couldn't be human.

A vision of his soulless sharingan eyes passed through her memory and made her sick. Sakura then looked at her hands, which were beginning to prune from her long stay in the tub. She really didn't want to get out because that only meant cooking lunch for Kisame. Then again, if she stayed too long, he'd probably tear down the bathhouse with Samehada and demand her services right away.

Sakura tossed the sponge on a nearby ledge and grabbed her towel. The water cascaded down the gentle curves of her body as she rose from the tub and stepped out. She lifted a hand to remove the pin that kept her long, petal locks piled atop her head.

As she did so, the towel was loosely clutched to her chest. She turned around and almost screamed. Her mouth gaped open in horror. The door was wide open and standing at the doorframe was Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura stifled the scream that was lodged in her throat. She swallowed it painfully as her panicked hands fumbled quickly with the towel to cover up as much as possible.

At her current state of undress, Itachi didn't flinch. He wore the same emotionless expression—half of it hidden behind the large collar of his black cloak. His eyes never wandered; they stayed directly on her, causing her to fidget in the distressing silence.

" Don't worry. I didn't see……much," he spoke.

His voice was completely void of any emotion; the same dry and impassive tone Sakura always heard when he was around.

" What do you want ?" she ventured. She clutched her towel closer to her chest when she felt his stare burning her dampened skin.

" Kisame is sniveling for your services. You should feed him before he starts to annoy me."

Itachi reached up and undid part of his cloak to welcome air from the humidity outside and the steam from the bathhouse inside. He fixed her with an unreadable gaze, which Sakura forced herself to look away from, for fear that she'd be plunged into the dark, merciless world of the Tsukiyomi.

" Alright. But I need to get myself together if you don't mind," she said a little disdainfully.

She looked up again but all she found was the door of the bathhouse creaking open. The doorframe was empty and Itachi was gone.


	2. Ulterior Motive

**Backfire**

Written by: Mikami

**Summary**: After holding Sakura captive for five months, Itachi comes up with a perfect plan on how to exact further pain on Sasuke. Unfortunately, he overlooked the possibility of it backfiring.

**Author's notes**: Everything that is _ITALICIZED_ is a character thought.

**Warnings**: Profanity. GET LOST KIDDIES, this fic is a lemon-scented Itachi x Sakura.

* * *

**Part 2: Ulterior Motive**

Sakura swept a strand of wet hair away from her face as she tried busying herself over the frying pan. The once-abandoned house didn't come with garnish in the cupboards, so the only thing left to give flavor to the food was what she picked up at the market the other week: salt. Not that she really cared about the tastes of her captors: they could be eating poison and she wouldn't give a rat's ass. But poisoning them, she had tried already and it didn't work.

She placed the jar of salt back in the cupboard above her and went to pay attention to the broth beside the frying pan. A frown made its way onto her face as the realization sunk in—it was very unsettling to have Itachi back on the premises.

The fish continued to sizzle on the stove as Sakura looked out of the cabin's musty windows. A second earlier, she'd seen Kisame disappear from sight, his uniform black cloak over his shoulder and Samehada dragging a wretched pathway behind.

A stream of sunlight hit her in the face as she noticed Uchiha Itachi materializing out of nowhere just a stone's throw away from the front door. His direction was aimed inside and Sakura's heart gave a hard and painful thump in her chest. The sizzling fish crackled and a speck of hot oil leapt onto her arm. She winced at the slight pain as her hand automatically clapped over it to give it a rub.

The sound of the door opening reached her ears but Sakura continued to occupy herself with rubbing the red spot on her arm while half paying attention to her cooking—anything to look busy, so maybe Itachi would go on his merry way and leave her be.

The old cabin door creaking open already sparked the apprehensiveness in her queasy stomach; footsteps that belonged to the Akatsuki member multiplied it. There were only a few short steps from the front door to the kitchen.

_Oh no_, Sakura thought exhaling slowly and saw a glimpse of Itachi from the corner of her eye. His cloak was open at the front to allow for some ventilation. The noise of feet stopped, signaling that he'd reached the kitchen entrance. His presence seemed to radiate a disturbing cloud of silence. If Itachi had been walking in a glorious forest full of lively animals, Sakura was sure they'd all become deathly quiet the moment he would pass by. In her mind's eye she even imagined the natural vegetation withering pathetically beside his path. Her imagination ran wild with her, creating these scenarios that Itachi himself would probably laugh at; not that she'd ever seen him laugh.

There was something odd about why the Akatsuki mukenin stood stationary at the kitchen entrance. Even stranger was the subject of his impassive stare. Itachi blinked once, knowing that Sakura was trying to look busy. Her nervousness was like pollution in the air; he could smell it a few feet away. She was rigidly watching the stove while rubbing her arm profusely as if it was dirty.

Itachi knew Haruno Sakura had always been uneasy around him. Even after the few months of their accommodation, her view of him had not changed nor did the way she acted when he was on the premises. It was actually quite amusing. She was powerless and she knew it too. There was something humorous about her acceptance of how helpless she was in the middle of nowhere with only the Akatsuki for company.

The corner of Itachi's mouth lifted slightly and he moved forward.

Sakura saw the fish was starting to burn so she quickly emptied the pan onto the serving plate. She went to give the broth a mix but realized her hands were shaking somewhat. Quickly ignoring it, Sakura dumped the second fish into the pan and all she heard was the oil crackle and spit. The sound of footsteps was gone.

_Close enough_, Sakura inhaled a little shakily. She dipped the wooden spoon into the broth and blew on it a little to taste it. It was a welcome tactic to bringing her mind down to earth. She didn't sense Itachi's presence any longer but decided to give her mind a rest by checking around—a mistake on her part.

Itachi was not at the door anymore but right behind her. At once her stomach shot into her throat, bringing her heart and her lungs with it in a catastrophic gasp for air. She burned the corner of her mouth with the hot spoon and the utensil landed messily on the floor.

She didn't hear anything, not even her own breathing. She swore never to look at his eyes but her own emerald irises widened at the sight of the perpetual black and red Sharingan. Automatically, Sakura had wanted to move away from him as quickly as possible but he was too close and the hot was stove was burning behind her. Any more backward and her hair would catch on fire.

" Wh-what…" she began to stammer.

Itachi's steely gaze was unreadable but the power of it bore into her face. He'd never been this close to Sakura before. Her eyes were like an open book with its pages flipping quickly in the wind. He read all the emotions, feeling them run through her eyes and weaving through her soul. Her pink lips trembled a little, the color matching the rosy blush on her ivory skin.

_Please…oh God, please no_, Sakura's wild mind pleaded over and over again. Itachi loomed over her; his steady breathing sent tremors under her skin and pounded inside her ears like malicious torture. Even with a blank expression, Itachi's gaze was lethal.

She saw him lift his hand slowly, bringing it up higher toward her face. Panic exploded in her stomach and it was this moment that Sakura knew she was going to die. After all those months of waiting in agony, he finally picked an odd time to kill her. Her heart was thudding out of her chest as she awaited death.

There was no sympathy or emotion on Itachi's face even with fear written all over hers. However, his index finger extended toward the corner of her mouth and to Sakura's blatant shock, Itachi wiped off a drop of broth that was hanging on her lip.

With her chest heaving in a wave of relief, she watched in alarm as Itachi put his finger into his mouth.

" Needs salt," he said grimly.

It caught her completely off guard but Sakura couldn't get her limbs to move. Not only was she numb, Itachi's close proximity made it difficult to reach into the cupboard above.

Sakura gained the strength to tear her eyes away from his face but she nodded quickly at his command. She was too much on the edge to consider shoving him away, so she made a pathetic attempt to the reach the cupboard on her own.

His lips curved upwards a little into a smirk and grasped the jar of salt himself. He didn't move an inch from her even after he set it down on the counter—if anything, Sakura started to panic again when she realized that he moved closer.

" The f-fish…might be burning," she managed out. The oil splattered behind her.

Itachi said nothing. His stomach was now pressing softly into hers.

The pressure of his weight against her body made her feel vulnerable and naked. Itachi's hand reached up again and this time caught her chin when she tried to avoid his stare.

Yes, he could definitely feel all her fear now. Every little pulse of blood beneath her skin echoed through his system. Under usual circumstances, an instance like this would be enjoyable but somehow it was different. It wasn't because she was a woman.

It was because she was Uchiha Sasuke's.

" Hmph," Itachi uttered softly and let her go.

With his touch still burning on her skin, Sakura watched numbly as he turned around and left the kitchen. Behind her, the broth bubbled fiercely and the fish was burnt.

* * *

Evening had come and gone as quickly as the sunset and the orange and red rays that once streaked the sky were changing from a dark blue to an inky black. The watery horizon of the lake beyond was disappearing and the only thing that made the shore discernable was the incoming froth from the waves.

Itachi had been standing in the same spot ever since evening had begun. A couple of hours flew by in a flash but time was of no essence to him. The crunching of stones and sand under feet caused him to close his eyes for a resting moment.

" I heard the latest orders being given were just scout and reconnaissance missions," Kisame came up from behind. " It's a sad waste of time from some true blood-shedding potential."

" What a common-minded declaration," Itachi responded.

" Heh."

Kisame huffed and shrugged off what was poised as an insult. He and Itachi had been partners in the Akatsuki organization for as long as he could remember. Kisame's understanding of the former Uchiha went far beyond those who called him pathetic to allow a partner to speak to him condescendingly. Uchiha Itachi was not the type of person to make things complicated with.

" I'm a simple man. Bloodshed, the good fight and air to breathe is enough for me to have a purpose in life."

" It's not a reconnaissance mission," Itachi ignored him. " Akatsuki has sanctioned a pursuit party for Orochimaru's subordinate, Kabuto. He's been missing since Orochimaru's end and has taken with him information about Akatsuki. He needs to be taken care of."

" Am I to do this alone ?"

" No. You'll be meeting Zetsu on the outskirts of Wind. Kabuto has been spotted there fourteen days ago."

" I see. Well, having something to do, even something as little as this, has made me happier," said Kisame. " If you hadn't returned, I wouldn't have stopped myself from tearing out that pink-haired bitch's insides."

Itachi's lips stretched sardonically, " Does she really give you that much trouble ?"

" I don't know whether to rape her or kill her."

" She's not to be touched."

A thin eyebrow on Kisame's forehead lifted suspiciously. He'd been wrestling with an unspoken question in his mind for several months now. Why was Haruno Sakura still alive and still with them ?

" I'm starting to come to the conclusion that you're keeping her around for something else other than to piss your little brother off," he spoke with caution.

" Don't be ridiculous," Itachi's replied dryly while Kisame smirked.

" There are better ways of hurting the poor boy other than killing her," the former Mist assassin put forward. " I'd do it myself but, I think it would only be a slap in his face. However, if you played the key role, it'd be more like running him through with a blunt and rusty knife while slowly gouging out every little bloody organ in his fucking stomach."

When Itachi didn't say anything, Kisame knew he'd gotten the attention of his partner. His jagged grin widened considerably and he stepped closer, his voice looming over Itachi's shoulder.

" Unless you actually like having her around. But I'll admit only once that she was useful sometimes around the cabin."

" You've never really questioned me about my decisions in the past, Kisame," Itachi finally said. " Do not start by questioning why she's still alive."

With a sigh, Kisame withdrew and stepped back. " Alright then. It's just an idea."

" Zetsu will be looking for you in a few hours. Get out of my sight."

In a split second, his partner was gone and Uchiha Itachi was left to his own devices once again on the lakeshore. Against his will, Kisame's words triggered a strange sense of curiosity in him. He knew in an instant what his partner meant about him playing the so-called "key role". The earlier events of today only strengthened Itachi's wandering thoughts, bringing him to a vision with petal hair and emerald eyes.

Sakura had been scared of him but he could read clearly into the emotions behind her eyes. He already knew her relationship with Sasuke was not how she wanted it to be. Sasuke never paid attention to her, much less touched her.

_Foolish little brother once again taking something for granted_.

Maybe it was time Itachi did him a favor, after all, what were older siblings for ? Itachi would show him, make Sasuke realize the true error of his mistakes. And it would hurt and maximize his hatred a hundredfold. Perhaps Kisame was right—it was a winning situation.

The idea was coming together in his thoughts and the more Itachi thought about it, the more sense it began to make. Pain was of the essence and Sakura was the means to an end.

However, he would not force her and Sasuke's negligence of her only gave Itachi another advantage. He had a feeling Sakura would not oppose so fast no matter how frightened she was or how much she detested him.

The objective became clear and Itachi was pleased. Sakura would contribute to Sasuke's destruction. With that in mind, he did up the clasps of his cloak and walked down the lakeshore.


	3. Covet

**Backfire**

Written by: Mikami

**Summary**: After holding Sakura captive for five months, Itachi comes up with a perfect plan on how to exact further pain on Sasuke. Unfortunately, he overlooked the possibility of it backfiring.

**Author's notes**: Everything that is _ITALICIZED_ is a character thought.

**Warnings**: Profanity. GET LOST KIDDIES, this fic is a lemon-scented Itachi x Sakura.

* * *

**Part 3: Covet**

Sakura suddenly bolted up in bed and was hit with a beam of sun. She screwed up her face and tried to shield her eyes with the palm of her hand. For some reason there was an urgent feeling telling her that she forgot something and it should have been taken care of immediately.

She turned bleary eyes to the window and found the sun high in the sky. Sakura swallowed and realized it was either noon or past it.

_Oh shit_, a numb hand smacked her forehead. It was already lunchtime and she hadn't prepared any food; this was a situation she tried to avoid all this time in order to evade Kisame's hollowing about being hungry. He'd give her shit for the rest of the day and patronize her the remainder of the week.

But wait.

Sakura rubbed her eyes, got out of bed and stretched. Her still tired thoughts labored on her present situation. If it was noon already, wouldn't have Kisame woken her up by bashing his way through the door and demanded food at once ? It made sense but Sakura had to make sure.

Without washing her face, she brusquely combed a hand through the tangle of pink on her head and walked quickly out of her room. She checked the whole upstairs and to her relief, it was empty. She ran all the way downstairs and examined each room from the front door to the kitchen. There was still no sign of Kisame.

A certain excitement was pounding inside her chest and relief like no other was washing over her. Sakura yanked open the front door and began a round trip around the house to check Kisame's usual spots. The lakeshore was empty and so was the area near the bathhouse. Further away into the forest, Sakura didn't hear any noises of Samehada's heavy swinging.

The chirping of noon birds lifted her spirits when she grasped the fact that he hadn't bothered her—he'd disappeared and she couldn't give a rat's ass.

Sakura stretched luxuriously in the sunlight, all of a sudden feeling warm and strangely content. She inhaled a lungful of air and began to turn around to head back into the house when she bashed into something hard.

Suddenly, the petal-haired kunoichi backed away as if she'd been burnt. Her eyes slowly traced up the figure in front of her and into the face of Itachi. The little feeling of contentment inside her fizzled out like a used candle.

" Kisame's not here. You don't have to cater to his needs," Itachi's tone was stoic.

Sakura nodded slowly, " O…kay."

" But don't think you'll need to do anything for me."

" Alright."

She watched Itachi start to turn on his heel. It was only until he walked a few feet away from her, Sakura couldn't help but open her mouth.

" Why am I still here ?" she demanded as force worked its way into her voice.

Itachi stopped but stayed silent with his back to her.

" It's been five months ! Why the hell am I still here ?"

Her voice was growing louder by the second and Itachi could tell it was something she probably wanted to get off her chest for the longest time. He heard her walking up to him.

" Answer me !" she shouted. Without thinking, Sakura grasped his shoulder and pulled him around to face her. She expected the cold, murderous stare from the Akatsuki member but all she got was a blank, impassive expression.

" That's a good question," he said wryly, looking down into her wild green eyes.

" So answer it," she snapped.

" That would be pointless. But I will spend no time in trying to convince you. Things like that are only wasteful and time is a luxury that even the richest man in the world can never afford."

Itachi's extended but empty response turned Sakura's fear of him into annoyance and anger. She forgot he was a dangerous man.

" What are you planning to do with me ? Kill me to piss Sasuke off ? If that was the plan long ago, you should have done it already ! I'm not your fucking maid !"

A sudden, ironclad grip on Sakura's neck forced her to quiet down. The expression on Itachi's face had changed from blank to a little more predatory mixed with something else.

Her neck was long and delicate and the skin underneath Itachi's palms was silken to the touch. He felt her swallow against the rapid pulse in her neck and when he looked into her face, he could see she was trying to remain defiant although her fear was starting to show.

_It would be so incredibly easy now_, Itachi thought. His Sharingan eyes wandered from her face and trailed down toward the rest of her body. For sleeping, Sakura had been wearing a pair of beige pants that were cut off just below the knee and a white camisole. The material was thin and in the noon sunlight it appeared almost translucent, giving him a partial view of the creamy skin of her breasts and the rosy peaks of her nipples.

Sakura became rigid at the downward motion Itachi's eyes were taking. It was as if his gaze was more like a caress, especially when his red irises moved down her stomach and toward the junction between her thighs. A hot sensation mixed with anger and something else Sakura didn't know flooded into her bloodstream. An uncomfortable shiver ran up her spine when Itachi returned back to her face.

Abruptly, he released her neck with a surprising soft motion. He got the reaction from Sakura that he expected and it made way for the rest of his initiative against Sasuke.

" Leave," he said quietly.

Sakura wanted nothing more than to get away from him and the chaotic feelings he stirred inside her. Without looking back, she ran as fast as she could toward the house.

* * *

The rest of the day, Sakura spent trying to avoid Uchiha Itachi at all costs. While a part of her knew better, because he was always appearing out of nowhere, most of the time she stayed in her room. She positioned herself on the bed, backing herself into a corner to be far away from the door, which unfortunately never had a lock. 

She even took the liberty of working herself to death by getting the shutters at the windows to close. They had been rusted tight but she managed to get them to move somehow. In the semi-dark room she sat, nervous. The only time she ventured out was to go the bathroom or to get something to eat.

She was feeling trapped and restless. It was like Itachi's gaze left an imprint on her skin that she was trying to scratch out. However, at the same time Sakura was torn between anger and a curious desire to know why he stared at her the way he did. It made her feel weird and yet, strangely flattered.

Sakura stopped to think for a while amongst her mini fort of pillows. Nobody had ever really looked at her like that before, not Sasuke, or even Naruto. As a woman of twenty-one years, she never had the sole attention of one man concentrated directly on her. It was something she wanted desperately from Sasuke but as circumstances would have it, it seemed to come from Itachi instead.

A frown appeared on Sakura's face as she thought of Itachi's eyes again. She tried to ignore the odd swirling in her stomach and the warm feeling spreading below her waist.

_Stop it_, she told herself, disgusted. Everything about Itachi sickened her—his ideals, his actions, his goals. It didn't matter that his hands were warm, his eyes were hypnotizing or that he was handsome.

_What a waste_, Sakura suddenly thought. _All the handsome ones seem to have mental problems_.

She blinked, offended with herself. The last contemplation was certainly uncalled for.

The sun soon went down behind the rusty shutters at her windows. But many things were buzzing through Sakura's brain and she hadn't noticed the darkness of night creeping into her room. However, her head found its way to one of the pillows and sleep began to take over.

* * *

It was a few hours into the night when the darkness of Sakura's room was disturbed by a lone figure in the shade. The door creaked a little when Itachi slipped in quietly. He left off his cloak earlier and settled for just being in the simple attire of black pants and the form-fitting shirt with a mesh collar and sleeves. 

The whole room was bathed in shadow, save for the slivers of moonlight coming from the cracks in the rusty shutters. The only window that was missing the shutters was the one near the bed at the opposite end of the room, casting soft light on the figure that lay there.

Itachi set his vision on the objective and strode directly toward the bedside. He slowly sat himself on the edge of the sheets and looked down at the sleeping woman before him. A mental picture of Sasuke, raging and destroyed because of the latest crime his brother was going to commit against him, set the mood for Itachi's deed.

Sakura's face emitted a glow in the moonlight. She was so fair that there was a touch of blue hinting on her skin. The same blue illuminated her petal tresses that were splayed haphazardly on the pillows under her head, giving her a pinkish-purple halo. For moment Itachi let himself wonder why his brother didn't take advantage of such a thing as this.

Itachi removed his forehead protector and set it on the bedside table without a sound while continuing to drink her in. Closing the shutters must have made the room incredibly hot while she stayed in here but she was stubborn, determined to keep them closed to keep him out. A smirk appeared on Itachi's face at this.

As the result, he found her beige pants strewn somewhere on the other side of the bed. The camisole she was wearing was riding up her flat stomach, showing off her curves. The white sheets were half covering her body, hovering at her thighs and revealing a white set of cotton underwear. One leg was slightly bent, widening the junction between her legs slightly.

Itachi found himself inhaling as he slowly stretched out a hand and rested it softly on her stomach. He felt it rise and fall with her steady breathing. His other hand gently pulled the rest of the covers away from her body.

Sakura was slender and delicate and her skin felt the way he thought. Itachi leaned over a bit more and let a hand wander down her stomach toward her hip while a finger dipped into the side of her panties.

Sakura moaned a little and to his surprise moved forward into his hand.

With red eyes carefully watching her face, he moved lower and faintly brushed his fingers between the warmth of her thighs. Sakura's lips fell open and he caught a glimpse of the tip of her tongue sliding out. He felt her inhale and then saw her eyes flutter open.

" Sasuke…" she murmured, seeing the flash of red eyes and long raven hair. But then she looked closer and became confused. Then confusion turned into panic.

_Itachi !_

With her body tensed and ready to fight, Sakura was about to sit up and scream but Itachi was lightning fast and he moved on top of her, pinning her arms down with a hand clamped over her mouth.

" I'm not going to kill you," he said to the writhing girl.

The scream was lodged inside her throat.

" You know yourself that it would be useless to scream. You're in a cabin in the middle of a deserted forest. Nobody will hear you."

The realization, though quite depressing, was able to calm Sakura down and she stopped moving on the bed. Itachi removed his palm from her mouth when her gaze told him that she had something to say.

" What are you doing in my room ?" she asked tightly.

" You're always so full of questions," he said, nonchalant.

" And you're always so full of shit. Get off me !"

" Not until I get what I want."

There was a stinging sensation behind Sakura's eyes and she bit her lip as fear installed itself into her body. She knew what he wanted; their position on the bed made it clear as glass. With a painful look on her face, she turned her head away from him and blinked furiously against the incoming of tears. She knew she couldn't fight him.

" Fine," she uttered sorely. " Just get it over with."

Itachi stared back at her and let out a dry chuckle. He loosened his grip on her and was amused.

" What I want," he said. " Is a simple answer."

Sakura's mouth gaped open in surprise and relief but at the same time she wasn't sure she trusted him. If he had questions, why didn't he ask her earlier instead of coming in her room in the middle of the night ? Itachi was unpredictable; there was always another motive.

" I-I'm listening," she said.

" Good. And try not to lie."

Although Sakura waited for it, Itachi didn't remove himself from her.

" Does my little brother pay attention to you ?"

It was the most random question she ever heard and Sakura blinked a few times, confused.

" I don't understand in what context but yes, he DOES pay attention to me," she affirmed.

Itachi smirked, " You lie."

" You asked for the truth, so here it is !"

" I didn't mean it in that way."

For a while Sakura couldn't discern Itachi's enigmatic question. She was flustered and the weight of his torso on her wasn't making it any easier. The warmth of his body was intoxicating, crawling under her skin.

" Does he pay attention to YOU…as a woman ?" he rephrased with a stronger tone.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Above all things, she wanted to say yes but then it would be a lie. It was a sad truth she'd been living with all these years. Sasuke never looked at her the way Itachi did earlier in the day.

When she didn't answer, Itachi said, " I thought so."

" That doesn't mean anything," she shot back, trying to save face. " I know Sasuke even better than you. Everything inside him is locked up right now, I feel it. I know it. It-it just needs time to come out……"

She heard her own voice trailing off to finish pathetically. She never had much proof in Sasuke's affection towards her to begin with.

" And when do you suppose he'd start ? Never ? That's plausible."

Now the Akatsuki mukenin was making fun of her, Sakura knew.

" Leave Sasuke out of this," she said in a desperate attempt to hide her pain.

" As you wish. He's not one of my concerns at the moment but you are."

Sakura shook her head on the pillow to see if she heard right and when she peered into Itachi's face, at once she saw how serious he was. Sakura inhaled sharply, feeling the fear rise in her throat.

" I'm not going to force you but then again I don't think I'll have to. So I'm going to do you a favor to remedy my little brother's ignorance. And I'm not leaving until you accept."

" A favor ?" Sakura spat. " I don't want anything from you."

" Don't be so sure. Trust me, it will be worth your while," Itachi said straight-faced.

Itachi's prodding was making Sakura curious against her will and she looked up at him nervously.

" What…what's the favor ?" she ventured cautiously.

" Just a kiss."

Sakura seemed to relax slightly but was bewildered at such a request. She couldn't believe these words were coming from Itachi.

" Do you promise to leave after ?" she sounded childlike.

Itachi leaned closer and brought his face mere centimeters from hers, so they were almost nose-to-nose. Red eyes crinkled in strange amusement as his warm breath tickled her lips.

" I'll leave when you want me to," he said softly.

She was cornered and had no choice but to agree. Sakura wanted him off her and out of her room as quickly as possible. But at the same time, she was disturbed greatly at the thought of Itachi's lips on hers. She was scared to death and felt like she was about to betray Sasuke on a whole different level.

Her eyes were half-lidded with that same pained expression of unease when Itachi closed the distance between them. Sakura's lips were tightly closed and her body tensed up on contact.

He brushed her mouth with his own very briefly and then pulled back an inch to stare at her.

" Okay," she said. " You got what you wanted, now please leave."

Itachi huffed incredulously and cocked his head to the side.

" No, I kissed you but you didn't reciprocate. It's less than satisfactory," he said, deadpan.

Sakura's face turned red with anger. _Excuse me ! Less than satisfactory !_

His words infuriated her. Not only was Itachi being sardonic, he was mocking her by adding insult to injury. Sakura wrenched her arms from under him and grabbed his head, pressing her lips against his. However, she failed to see the satisfied glint of victory on his face.

Pulling him down, She felt the full warmth of Itachi's mouth on hers. His lips were soft and they moved gently, caressing hers with added breath. Sakura's lips automatically opened to him, her eyes falling shut because of the heated sensation the moment created.

Kissing Itachi was like kissing the devil—a wicked angel with a blood-soaked halo of malice.

_Why am I doing this ? Itachi's a monster. He's a murderer, he ruined Sasuke, he deserves to die, he's—_

The words spun inside Sakura's head and she felt like nothing but a dirty traitor until Itachi's tongue slipped inside and brushed against hers. Suddenly, it was like she couldn't think anymore as she was plunged into a world of pure sensation. Sakura was dragged further and further away from the surface when Itachi's calloused hands came up, thumbs brushing gently against her jaw and cheeks.

When he kissed the side of her mouth, Sakura moved her head quickly to once again catch him; the tip of her tongue tracing his upper lip. Itachi smirked, seeing her lost in the moment, so he pressed into her further, tasting her. He let her lead for a while to establish comfort in her own pace.

One of his hands drifted from her cheek, slowly made its way down her neck and stopped when he cupped her breast. Through the thin fabric of her camisole, Itachi's fingers caught her hardened nipple in pleasure. Sakura whimpered into his mouth, her hands sinking into his hair.

Itachi's kiss finally left her mouth and traveled toward her cheek. He nipped at her earlobe, swirling his tongue to make her shiver in delight. As Sakura's mouth hung open, Itachi trailed down her neck in unison to the hand that moved underneath her shirt.

A bare hand massaged her breasts while the other pushed her shirt higher until it was over her head. Before Sakura could open her eyes to protest, Itachi moved too quickly for her and took an aching, rosy peak into his mouth. Once again Sakura's protests and worries were silenced by his ministrations.

With her shirt tossed somewhere on the bed, Itachi took the opportunity to position himself closer to her. Sakura raised her head slightly from the pillow to catch a glimpse of him. And Itachi knew she was watching; locking her eyes with his, he drew hot, wet circles around her nipples with his tongue. Like torture, he avoided touching the very peak until she was begging him with little noises.

Itachi flicked his tongue once on one of her hardened tips, eliciting a short cry from Sakura. It felt so good; her hands almost pulled his hair. He flicked again and this time continuously back and forth with a sensual rhythm. Sakura arched into his mouth, her body writing in pleasure beneath him.

He repeated the same action with her other breast, setting Sakura's body on fire. When she was still huffing for breath, he moved back up to her lips and forced his tongue inside her mouth, thrusting and twisting inside with hers. Itachi's hand moved lower between her thighs and one of his knees bent to part her legs.

The moment he felt the spot of moisture seeping through her panties, Sakura gasped and her eyes shot open.

" Don't," she cried, half in pleasure and half in fear.

Itachi warmly traced her bottom lip with his tongue before stopping to look at her.

" Do you really want me to stop ?" he asked. From the flushed look on Sakura's face, he could see she was hesitant about saying no.

" I…don't know," she uttered.

Sakura peered at him with worried eyes as she felt his knee slowly separate her thighs a little more.

" You don't hate me Sakura or else you wouldn't have let me do anything," he said quietly. " Nor do you hate this."

When Itachi said that, he pressed two fingers into the growing wet spot of her underwear. With an upward motion, he applied gentle pressure toward her entrance, up until the button of pleasure above her opening.

Sakura cried out in surprise at the rush of heat and bliss. It was there for a second and then disappeared, leaving her with a hard throbbing of desire. Her green eyes darkened, as she looked up at Itachi in a silent request for more.

" This is wrong," she said, but the look of her face betrayed her.

Itachi gave her a strange smile and stroked her through the fabric again, harder this time.

" You don't want me to stop. Say it, and I promise you I will."

That asshole, Sakura gritted her teeth as the feelings came over her. She knew very well she couldn't say a single word under the spell he put her under. And he made sure of that by once again placing his lips on hers.

This time Sakura was the one to plunge her tongue inside his mouth. Her hands wandered quickly down the sides of his face, his neck and to his shoulders. They slid over the shirt that covered his back and under, gripping the hem tightly and pulling upward to slide the piece of cloth over his head. Chest to chest, Sakura melded freely into his warmth, feeling intoxicated by his musky scent and bodily essence.

Itachi wasn't brawny but lean and muscular. Her hands glided over the hard terrain of his back, down his spine and toward his tailbone. She felt him lose control for a second as his grip on her tightened severely. He grabbed the back of her head while his other hand tore away her panties.

He slid a finger into her entrance, massaging her opening gently by parting her folds. She murmured hesitantly but his kiss lured her into a sense of trust as he slid two fingers inside her. She was tight and wet, wet like her kisses being sprayed along his jaw line.

Sakura stopped when the intense pressure between her legs began to build. The sliding motion of his fingers inside her was delightfully rhythmic and with every stroke of his fingers, a breath was stolen from Sakura. He never stopped eye contact with her, his red and black irises were full of unreadable emotion and words.

With his fingers thrusting in her, Itachi placed a slick thumb on her clit and tortured her with gentle circles. It was something she'd never felt before—the compelling heaviness of the buildup. Sakura was climbing toward somewhere, to the top of a shaking mountain with a body riddled with tremors. She spasmed breathlessly underneath Itachi, her hips rising upward for more of the sensation in a climax ready to explode.

The orgasm hurtled into her like a ton of steel bars and Sakura shattered around Itachi's fingers. The ache continued when he pushed her again and she climaxed twice, crying out into the darkness of the room.

Sakura relaxed back onto the pillows with a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her breathing was labored as she turned to Itachi, watching him remove his fingers from her, dripping with her moisture. An electric surge ran up her spine and sparked her brain when she saw him put one of his digits into his mouth, tasting her. Then he kissed her again and she moaned with her own flavor from his lips.

She was so occupied with Itachi, she hadn't noticed him removing his pants. All she felt was the warmth of his lower body on her own and it felt like heaven. He nestled her legs all the way open so his waist could fit between her, her wetness brushing against his pelvis.

It took Sakura a second more to figure out what was really happening after she felt something long and hard press against her inner thigh. The desire was there on Itachi's face and for the first time, there was no trace of that emotionless, blank stare. He wanted her; it was so stark in the open, Sakura was alarmed. Itachi was pulsating against her thigh and she could tell by the tightness in his jaw, he was struggling to not just plunge into her.

" I don't know about this," she said tentatively.

Her mind was suddenly thrown into a flashback to a conversation she had with Ino back when they were eighteen. Ino had been so proud and excited that she lost her virginity to Shikamaru. To Sakura's embarrassment, she recounted all the details, big and small to her friend, regaling her with the experience. Sakura had drowned out the hornier parts and pretended to listen but she remembered one specific thing—that it hurt.

" So tell me to stop," Itachi whispered back, slowly inserting just the tip of himself into her opening. He snaked a hand under her back and pulled her toward him for support.

" I…" Sakura started.

He stroked her entrance with his tip. He even trembled a little, sucking in air to keep control.

" I…"

" Yes ?" He went a little deeper.

Sakura gasped, feeling herself stretch at his thickness. She wanted to say no but somehow she couldn't. Fear, desire, hate, need and everything in between was coursing through her system in a knot of confusion. But the feeling of Itachi's arms surrounding her gave Sakura a sense of reassurance. And it was wrong.

However, she wanted to vanquish those thoughts and so she pulled him to her once again and this time tightened her arms around his body, bringing Itachi, the enemy, close to her heart.

For a moment Itachi paused. Everything was falling into place just as he wanted. He'd convinced her with his powers of persuasion, allowing him to fill her body at will. But the firm grip of her arms and the way her fingers stroked the back of his neck where hair met flesh, gave him an uncomfortable feeling of peace. The pounding of her heart against his chest made him think twice.

_She means nothing to me. She's just a means to an end,_ he told himself.

" This will hurt," he said to her and felt her nod.

Without further preamble, he slid himself as gently as he could inside her. Sakura's mouth hung open as her eyes widened in shock. It was like having a breath crushed out of her slowly as she felt every inch of Itachi burying himself to the hilt. The pain grew between her legs and fired her body all the way up to her stomach and to her throat.

When she cried out in pain, Itachi kissed her softly, hushing her with a never before seen gentleness. At this moment, he certainly didn't feel like an enemy……he was more like her lover.

Sakura was hot and tight around him and Itachi had to grasp the sheets with his other hand to keep some semblance of control. The same phrase repeated in his head—that Sakura meant nothing, that this was only a circumstance of pain on Sasuke.

But his mind and body seemed to disconnect themselves. Itachi persisted on kissing her, assuring her that it would be all right. He even felt some of the tension disappear when Sakura relaxed.

Fixing his gaze on her, Itachi pulled out and drove back into her depths. Sakura's body bucked upward in pain but he held her firmly against him. She buried her face into his neck to muffle another cry. He thrust again, slower, and his motions steadily multiplied.

As the pain inside Sakura lowered to a dull aching, she struggled to breathe and dug her nails into the back of Itachi's neck. While her eyes were clamped shut, she fought ardently against the onslaught of tears. Not only did it hurt physically, it also hurt emotionally. She dreamed of sharing this moment with Sasuke, not with Itachi, the one he hated. Itachi was now doing all the things she had wanted Sasuke to do.

_Just a means to an end_……

The words echoed again in Itachi's mind but it was getting harder to repeat those words when sensation began to take over his body. The primal, animalistic side of being human was coming out, feeding on pleasure and hushing the logical mind. Itachi's senses began to quicken his pace, stroking inside Sakura when she tightened around him.

At once the pain seemed to fade and the familiar intensity began to take hold of Sakura. She discovered Itachi's thrusting rhythm and tried it herself, moving with him, their bodies starting to rock together in unison on the bed. Moaning into his ear, she told him not to stop and her request was met with Itachi's firm but gentle hold.

Soon, Sakura was wide open and a wave of pleasure began its burning trek up to the highest peak of sensation. She met Itachi thrust for thrust as she bucked her hips into his, urging him to drive deeper.

_She's just a_……

There was no more in Itachi's head after that. As a man that considered himself a god of his own self-control, he even lost that thought as primal instinct invaded his brain and took hold of everything he was.

Itachi grunted softly against Sakura's neck, driving into her frantically, turning into a mad being that only wanted to feel. The sound of their flesh slapping together mingled with Sakura's upsurge in cries of pleasure and the intensity of her gasps.

He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted her. He wanted everything inside and everything she had to give. Sakura was open and he wanted to take it for all it was worth.

Without pulling himself out of her, Itachi slid his way off the bed and stood at the end. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her toward the edge, leaving her nothing to hang onto except for the sheets. Then he lifted her legs to rest them against his shoulders; gripping her thighs, he drove into her again, harder, faster, deeper than before when they were lying down.

Sakura felt the pressure of his full length inside her, her eyes widening from the gasps she needed to take every time he plunged into her.

Itachi's feet were spread wide apart on the floor, knees bent to give him proper leverage as he slammed into her with everything he had.

In the midst of it all, they made eye contact and suddenly Sakura was pulled against her will into another world. She drowned into the redness of his eyes and was suffocated by the spinning black. The whole world spun around her mercilessly in a swirling mass of black and red as the power of her climax strengthened to the max.

She believed she was so enraptured with the way Itachi was making her feel, that she was going crazy enough to see things. As she lay arched on her back and screaming in pleasure for dear life at her ascending climax, she discovered herself surrounded by a crimson sky with fast-moving wisps of black clouds.

As the world spun around her in all directions, Itachi's gaze never left her eyes. Sakura splintered and broke around him as the wave of climax hit her powerfully like a blow. It crashed down on her, bringing her senses into light but not quite. Sakura gasped at the feeling of a second uprising and the next orgasm hit her ten times more. She felt like dying.

Itachi couldn't help but bring her into his world and he tried his best not to break Sakura by releasing the full-blown element of the Tsukiyomi in an entirely different context. Not one of torture and pain, but one of long drawn out pleasure—an equivalent to three days exactly.

Itachi's hand sought hers out among the sheets, when his uprising was heading toward its peak. No control, nothing. This time, he let himself have it. This time, he could afford it.

With tightly gritted teeth, the Akatsuki mukenin groaned loudly and gave her the hardest of his last and desperate thrusts. He exploded in heat inside her, releasing himself deep into the hole of her oblivion. The glorious pain of his orgasm made his whole body ache; he couldn't even tell if he was still standing or not. He clamped his eyes shut, trying to hold onto the sensation of her as long as he could.

Finally, the energy was drained from Itachi's body and he collapsed on top of Sakura in a breathless fit.

Sakura opened her eyes and the red sky and black clouds were replaced by the moonlit darkness of her room. Gasping with sweat pouring down the sides of her face, she embraced the slick form of Itachi on top of her. She realized their hands had been intertwined together for the longest time; a sharp pain shot through her fingers when she loosened her grip.

_Itachi_……

As if he heard her thoughts, Itachi silently gathered her into his arms and kissed her once more before admiring how beautiful she was.

_Just a means to an end_…

* * *

It was a couple of hours until sunrise when Itachi was lying in bed. Beneath the sheets, his naked body was joined with Haruno Sakura's. He was wide-awake and staring into the vanishing darkness. The objects in the room were becoming more discernable by the minute but unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for his thoughts. 

The deed was done and now it was time to leave.

Itachi began to move but felt Sakura's arm tighten around him. He turned toward her and found her eyes half-open.

" Don't go," she said, barely audible. " Just stay……only for a little while."

He considered her plea for a second, questioning why. It was almost morning and it was time to return back to being her enemy.

" Alright," he found his mouth moving without his consent.

The voices in Itachi's head raged incoherently but his body complied with Sakura's request and he relaxed into her embrace. It even felt nice. What he felt was alien to him but he didn't complain. Maybe he'd stay, just a bit more.

Itachi's hand came up and softly stroked Sakura's bare back. He'd come to appreciate the texture of her skin. Her breathing became steady, signaling that she was on her way to slumber.

" Maybe you should forget about this," he said to her sleeping facade. " Bury it up in your memories."

* * *

When the first rays of the morning appeared, Itachi detached himself from Sakura's warmth. He quietly slipped on his clothes and covered her again with the sheets. He even placed her discarded garments neatly at the edge of the bed. Without a word, Itachi looked at her once, peacefully sleeping, and then left her room. 

He closed her door with an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was ridiculous. Everything had gone according to plan and nothing stood in his way, not even Sakura herself. She was his woman now, not Sasuke's, nor would she ever be. Itachi had possessed her body in ways she never knew or felt. But it was unfulfilling what he wanted for his plan against his brother.

But Itachi couldn't stop the feeling that maybe the person he hurt wasn't Sasuke. He hurt himself instead. It had been a long time since he felt anything. Sakura had made him FEEL.

The Akatsuki mukenin leaned against the wall beside her door and slid down to sit on the floor. Rubbing his temple in exasperation, he sighed.

The truth hurt indeed and he was damned. She'd made him lose control and here he was, stewing in his own backfired plan, trying to convince himself that he was the winner.

Itachi wasn't sure what it all really meant, to her or to him but he knew it was the end. Sasuke was coming for her, Itachi had known this for a few weeks now. It was inevitable and destiny was playing its hand.

There was no choice but to let go.

Sakura was awake when Itachi left. She only pretended to be asleep. As much as her heart wanted to regret what happened the night before, it didn't. Maybe there were consequences to be faced but Sakura wasn't in the mood to contemplate.

She didn't hate Itachi and now she didn't think she could ever hate him. All she knew now was that she pitied him. And in a strange sense, they both got what they wanted……or rather, what they needed, from each other. She knew what it felt to be treated like a woman. A woman that belonged to her lover.

- OWARI –

* * *

**Author's Note**: Thank you very much for reading and I hope I've done Itachi and Sakura some justice. There were people asking me for a sequel. However, I'm very sorry but it's uh...not going to happen. I personally don't like sequels because I feel a fanfic of this style should end. I wanted to leave readers with a feeling and to make a sequel will change the feeling or make that feeling disappear. The ending is ambiguous, yes, but that's the point. I feel I accomplished my goal in the kind of plot I wanted—Itachi had a plan and it backfired on him. Even if you don't understand, that's fine. It ends here. 


End file.
